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Guitar scale · exotic

B Bebop Harmonic Minor Scale

Harmonic minor with a passing ♭7 between the ♭6 and the 7, giving eight notes.

Notes BC#DEF#GAA#
Formula 1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 ♭7 7
Steps W H W W H W H H
Mood Swinging, Dark, Fluid
Heard in Bebop Lines, Jazz Improvisation

Interactive scale diagram

B Bebop Harmonic Minor Scale · Standard tuning

STR OP 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 E A D G B E

Tap any note to hear it.

B Bebop Harmonic Minor Scale tab: all 5 positions

Each tab climbs from the low E string to the high e string. Play it up, then back down.

Position 1 · E shape frets 7–11
e|---------------------------------------7-9-10-|
B|-------------------------------8-10-11--------|
G|------------------------7-9-11----------------|
D|---------------7-8-9-11-----------------------|
A|--------7-9-10--------------------------------|
E|-7-9-10---------------------------------------|
Position 2 · D shape frets 9–13
e|---------------------------------------------9-10-12-|
B|------------------------------------10-11-12---------|
G|----------------------------9-11-12------------------|
D|--------------------9-11-12--------------------------|
A|---------9-10-12-13----------------------------------|
E|-9-10-12---------------------------------------------|
Position 3 · C shape frets 11–15
e|-------------------------------------------------12-14-15-|
B|----------------------------------------12-14-15----------|
G|----------------------------11-12-14-15-------------------|
D|-------------------11-12-14-------------------------------|
A|----------12-13-14----------------------------------------|
E|-12-14-15-------------------------------------------------|
Position 4 · A shape frets 14–18
e|-------------------------------------------------14-15-17-18-|
B|-------------------------------------------15-17-------------|
G|-------------------------------14-15-16-18-------------------|
D|----------------------14-16-17-------------------------------|
A|-------------14-16-17----------------------------------------|
E|-14-15-17-18-------------------------------------------------|
Position 5 · G shape frets 16–20
e|-------------------------------------------------17-18-19-|
B|----------------------------------------17-19-20----------|
G|-------------------------------16-18-19-------------------|
D|-------------------16-17-19-20----------------------------|
A|----------16-17-19----------------------------------------|
E|-17-18-19-------------------------------------------------|

How to play B Bebop Harmonic Minor on guitar

Find the root first: B is at fret 7 on the low E string and fret 2 on the A string. The blue notes on the diagram are every B on the neck; the gold ones are the rest of the scale's home chord (♭3, 5, ♭7), the safest notes to land on at the end of a phrase.

Learn it one box at a time. Position 1, the E shape, sits at frets 7–11. Once it's under your fingers, move to position 2 (the D shape) and play the notes the two boxes share, then keep going up the neck. After all five, the scale joins up into one pattern across the whole fretboard.

Degrees

DegreeNote
1 B
2 C#
♭3 D
4 E
5 F#
♭6 G
♭7 A
7 A#

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Questions

What notes are in the B Bebop Harmonic Minor Scale?
The B Bebop Harmonic Minor Scale has 8 notes: B, C#, D, E, F#, G, A, A#.
What is the formula of the bebop harmonic minor scale?
1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 ♭7 7, which is the step pattern W H W W H W H H (W = whole step, H = half step).
Where do I play B Bebop Harmonic Minor on the guitar?
The root B is at fret 7 on the low E string and fret 2 on the A string. Position 1 (the E shape) covers frets 7–11, and four more positions connect it up the neck.

Bebop Harmonic Minor Scale in every key

More scales in B